PARLIAMENT’S Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will table its report on the goods and services tax (GST) refunds totalling RM19.4 billion in the Dewan Rakyat next Tuesday.

PAC chairman Noraini Ahmad said the report will also be available for the public to download from the Parliament website next Tuesday after it is tabled.

She said the report has been unanimously verified and approved by all 13 committee members today.

“All PAC members, both from the ruling government and opposition, were united in accepting the report.

“The proceedings took a long time, lasting 11 months since August 15, 2018 over 10 meetings involving 10 witnesses including the former finance minister, the current finance minister, the former second finance minister, former Treasury secretary-general, the current secretary-general, the Customs Department director and the Accountant-General,” she said in a statement today.

Of the RM19.4 billion in GST refunds, RM18 billion was discovered “missing” by the Pakatan Harapan government after it won federal power in general elections last year.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng revealed this in the Dewan Rakyat on August 7, saying the Barisan Nasional government had “robbed” government accounts of the funds.

Lim’s revelations prompted PAC to start a probe into where the money had gone.

Noraini said PAC was also briefed by several other agencies and ministries, including the National Audit Department, Attorney-General’s Chambers, Economic Affairs Ministry, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the Services Department.

She said these briefings were held so that PAC could draft an unbiased and fact-based report.

She also thanked former PAC chairman Ronald Kiandee for setting in motion the committee’s probe into the matter. 

Kiandee was replaced after he left BN and defected to ruling party Bersatu, as the PH government had pledged that the PAC chairman’s post would be filled by a member of the opposition. – July 10, 2019.